


Hermit.

by Noblegas Xenon (NoblegasXenon)



Series: There's A Traitor In the Midst [9]
Category: Lego - All Media Types, Lego Ninjago
Genre: Blessed Content with a small Angst, Gen, sorry for the angst btw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-23
Updated: 2018-02-23
Packaged: 2019-03-23 01:32:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13776843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoblegasXenon/pseuds/Noblegas%20Xenon
Summary: Awaiting change in a sanctuary.





	Hermit.

Days of rest weren’t common for the adopted brothers, so they grabbed what they could and went with it. This was one of those days. Ronin and Morro had two goals in mind: To visit the animal shelter and the orphanage. They weren’t exactly which to head to first.

So they sat outside the town and watched the street walkers for a while as they made up their minds. The wind was whistling and ruffling their heads of hair. Ronin was smiling and relaxed.

“Where do you want to go?” Ronin asks as he watches the clear blue sky. Morro shrugs, “Wherever is closest, I guess.”

Ronin nods and gets up. “I think the animal shelter is closer.” He gives a hand to his brother and they set off, running farther into the village. They ran and ran and kept going until they reached a building. 

Well lit and painted like sunshine and clear skies, it was a good place. Not quite filled to the brim with lost animals but enough. The front desk worker waves to them and they head for the cats.

They reach the chorus of meows in only several minutes, having practically memorized the building’s design. Even just for one thing, every worker knew them and smiled. Maybe they couldn’t adopt but they knew enough to help at times. 

The was always a variety of kittens and cats for them to play with. Small and joyous, they always loved seeing the bundles of fur. It was lonely and homey at the same time. Always brighter but never quite filled to the brim. They knew that cats would come and go, being adopted and it was better that way. Happier, it was the type of ending they wanted.

They help clean the litter boxes and feed the cats. Taking a few hours, they finally get to rest. Ronin was holding a small black runt of a kitten while Morro held a big poofy tabby. Soft cooing and soft pets, they made the best that they could from the moment.

“What are their names?” Ronin asks the volunteer supervising them, cradling the kitten like a baby. The volunteer laughs, a sing song voice of bird cries. She was older but barely by much, but taller with long black hair and a smile that brought joy and comfort. Her light brown volunteer shirt fluttering in the breeze.

The girl sits down next to him, the kitten meowing to her. She giggles. “Oh, that’s Garbage Bag and the big boy is Thunderbutt.”

Ronin starts to giggle, before finally laughing with her. Uproarious and loud, it felt like a home at the shelter. Morro wrinkles his nose and looks at her name tag. 

“Why is he called Thunderbutt? Yagi?” She glances at Morro.

“He’s a fart boy,” Morro snorts causing Yagi to continue. “I’m serious!” Morro snorts again before laughing himself. 

“I guess all the names are silly.” They sat around in a comfortable silence until Yagi remembered something. She got up quickly and ran inside, leaving the two boys confused.

Just two minutes and she was back carrying a bag of seeds. “Here, some catnip.” Yagi said throwing the bag to them, Ronin catching it just barely. Ronin looks at the bag then at her for a while. She sighs and answers.

“To plant, I know you love all the cats here.”

“O- Oh okay!” The boy replies nodding furiously. He hands the packet to Morro, knowing that he’d have the pockets for it. She sits down with them.

“So, how long will you be staying for today?” She asks, petting Garbage Bag. 

Ronin shrugs, “Me and Morro are visiting the orphanage later. Before we head back.” Yagi hums nodding. “And we’ll see again?” Ronin nods again.

“Yeah, I love being here!”

The cats are placed into carriers and placed back into their cubbies. Yagi waited for them outside before they could completely leave.

“Now, remember to plant the seeds? Okay?” She says lightly, tapping them each on the nose.

Covered in cat hair and laughing still with a song in the air, the boys began another venture to the orphanage. Lonely but well taken care of, there was a wise old woman with her granddaughter that sought after the kids.

Megumi and Sakura, dressed always in pinks and hair always tied into a bun. Megumi was gentle and a well spring of advice, taking care of the things Wu wouldn’t dare bother with. Sakura was a excitable but very caring girl. Sometimes she’d cook for them, it was the biggest blessing they were given. 

They see Sakura wheeling her grandmother with a crowd of curious kids around them. She looks up and brightens immediately. Waving them to them, Morro and Ronin too run to her.

“Oh, I’m so glad to see you two!” She calls out. “Michio has been wanting to see you both for a long time now!” Ronin sheepishly rubs the back of head.

“Sorry, we’ve been kept busy by training.” 

Sakura nods understandingly. “I get that! I’m just happy you both are here.” She was flowers and the smell of newly grown plants. The caretaker motions them inside, “Now come on, I made some egg tarts.”

Ronin and Morro run into the small building, lightness in their steps. Sakura wheeling her grandmother back inside, she’s still smiling and for a moment. It was heaven itself. Meanwhile, she goes to take several of the tarts for the boys to share among themselves.

Ronin grabs the first one, munching on the flaky pastry. He loved them, sugary and light. They always brought his hopes up. A small blessing and one he was willing to take. He was still crunching on the tart when Sakura came to sit with them. 

“So, anything good happen?” She asks them. Ronin freezes, he forgot she didn’t know about the full situation. Morro takes over for him, shrugging.

“Nothing much, Wu never lets us do anything.” He had taken one and was eating much slower then Ronin. “But it’s not like he cared either.”

Sakura sighs, “I knew that but I guess it was worth a shot.” They sit in silence, the boys eating as she watched over the kids. They never were rowdy, taken care of by a motherly force of nature.

Eventually done, a group of younger boys run up to them. Brown, black and blue eyes with a variety of hair colors stare up at them. The boy with black eyes climbed onto Ronin’s lap and Ronin couldn’t help giggling.

“Michio, what are you doing?” He says as the younger child’s short silver hair got into his face. Michio just stuck his tongue out and played with Ronin’s hands. 

“I wanted to see you!” Michio says, his voice raspy and small. Ronin glances at him worried. 

“Do you have your inhaler with you?” He asks, taking the small body in. Michio nods taking out a blue tube with a container on it. It was his medicine, something Ronin wasn’t allowed to have. “Well, that’s good. Take care of yourself.”

Michio slaps his arms weakly, “I know that, but I have Sakura to remind me!” And Ronin couldn’t help smiling sadly. Memories of Wu and no other parent figure caught him in a web. He wished he had been found by an orphanage caretaker then Wu.

He remembers the Stiix orphanage caretaker being strict but kind enough, he remembers Wu picking him up before he could join the rest. He remembers how she begged for Wu to not take him and some other things he had left into the mist of the forgotten. 

Ronin gets shaken by his thoughts when Morro nearly falls off his chair, a young beige haired boy with blue eyes had climbed over him like Michio had done Ronin.

“Hajime! What was that for?” Morro half shouts still cradling the chair. Hajime laughs loud like crashing waves on rocks. 

“S- Sorry! It’s just so fun.” The young boy replies. Hajime was fluid where Michio was rocky, they bonded to take care of each other and stayed together like glue. The other two with them, Yoshito and Koichi were their actual brothers. Cream blond and rosey red hair over twin pair of brown eyes, they were more quiet but helped to guide the rowdier siblings out of danger.

Blood to blood and glue to glue, they had more then Morro and Ronin but were always ready to see them. Where the shelter was a job that they hung out at, the orphanage was a home. 

“Hey- Hey! Are you listening?” Michio says, staring face to face with Ronin. Ronin shakes his head. “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” 

Michio sighs, “I know, but you always seem to do this.” Ronin finds himself with the same sad smile. “I’ll try not to this time.” Michio nods to that. 

“Okay! Well we found a frog pond nearby! And it’s really pretty there!” Ronin kept listening even as he felt a cough build up. He knew it was going to come eventually but for now? He was fine. “It’s surrounded by trees in the forest nearby and I wanted to take you guys there but Sakura says you both are always busy! Can- Can you come see it sometime?” Michio says ending in a questioning note.

“M- maybe. I’d like to see it.”

“We should probably go back, it’s dark out.” Morro says before the conversation could go any farther. Both Ronin and Michio moaned at the same time.

“We can’t stay longer?” Ronin whines out. Morro halfheartedly glared at him. 

“Do you want Wu to yell at us?”

“Fine---.” And they sat Michio and Hajime on their seats. Before the silver head could protest, Ronin got to his knees and shushed him. “We’ll come back, you know we always do.”

“If you say so.” Michio says and Ronin ruffles the small boy’s hair. Ronin gets up nodding to Morro and they set off. Back to temple and back to the prison.

The winds of time didn’t wait for them. The lights were all they had in the darkness.


End file.
